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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Because it's that time of year, I'm sure you're going to be seeing a whole lot of pumpkin recipes from me. Friday was Tiffani's Birthday, and even though I had already made the Pumpkin Crunch Cake for the celebration with her family, I decided she needed a little pumpkin yummy on her actual birthday. So I decided to use some of the leftover pumpkin puree from the cake, and I had a bunch of the cream cheese frosting left over as well. What better treats for her to take to work than some delicious Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!It was like a wonderful pumpkin roll in cookie form, and they were really quite easy to make! It was a one bowl recipe. No dry ingredients in one and wet in the other. Just all together! Of course, if you don't have any pre-made cream cheese frosting, you would need to mix that up in another bowl too, but that's about it!

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Whip the cream cheese and butter until very smooth and creamy. Slowly add in the powdered sugar while the mixer is on the low setting. Add in the vanilla and mix well.Set aside until needed

Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

One of my favorite home-cooked meals to make (and eat!) is chili. I remember eating my mom's chili and loving her recipe. One evening in high school, I even decided that I wanted to be in charge of making dinner and decided to recreate my her chili recipe. I had everything all set out on the counter ready to get started. I read the first step of the recipe and realized... I have no idea how to chop an onion. I called my mom, as she was still at work at that time, asking her how to chop an onion. She must have done a good job of giving directions on chopping that onion because I still remember that batch of chili and was so proud of myself for being able to make something as good my mom's chili! For the record, I do now know how to chop an onion. It is definitely something I struggle with still for some reason, but for the most part, I manage to get the thing diced up alright.Over the years, I have tried so many chili recipes. None of them quite match my mom's chili, so I kinda gave up on recreating that taste. Part of the reason could be that I don't eat meat, and most likely, the taste that's missing is the actual meat. But I didn't let that stop me. After all those recipes I kept testing out just didn't have that hearty home-cooked taste I was looking for, I decided to take matters into my own hands. One day, I just threw a bunch of stuff together on a whim and hoped for the best. Boy was it!My little family sat down to dinner, and Tiffani asked me, "Is this a new recipe?" I told her their wasn't a recipe and that I just put things together that I thought would work. Since I had tried so many different recipes, I had a good sense of what was essential in a good chili. So Tiffani told me that it was the best chili I had made yet and that I needed to write it down right then if I could remember everything that I put in it. Luckily, I could.I usually make this in a big soup-pot, where I heat the onions and soy crumbles (ground beef substitute) until the onions are transparent and the crumbles are thawed completely. Then at that point, I would add all the other ingredients and let simmer for at least 45 minutes (hour and a half at best!). But this time, I was feeling a little lazy, and that was just all too much work (of course, I'm joking), so I decided to make this in the crock pot. I wanted dinner to be ready as soon as I got home from work so we would have plenty of time to head over to Wheeler Farm Pumpkin Days afterwards. So without further ado, let me tell you just how easy this crock-pot vegetarian 3-bean chili is.

Mama's 3-Bean Chili

Ingredients1/2 onion, diced1 can black beans, rinsed1 can chili ready beans, not rinsed1 can great northern white beans, rinsed1 can corn, drained1 can tomato sauce1 can diced tomatoes1.5 cups vegetable stockpacket of chili mix1 Tablespoon chili powder1/2 Tablespoon cumin1 teaspoon garlic salt1 package of soy crumbles* this time I used Quorn brand - Boca brand is also good1 bay leafSince I was using the crockpot, literally all I did was dump everything in, stir it together, and set it on low for about 6 hours. It couldn't have been any easier!When the chili is all finished simmering or stewing in the crockpot and you're ready to serve, don't forget to fish out the Bay Leaf! No one wants to eat that! In our family, we like to top our chili with a healthy dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese. Crumble a few saltine crackers in there (or Cheese-It's if you're my 5 year old), and you have one yummy bowl of warm-you-from-the-inside chili!*Of course, this does not have to be a vegetarian chili. You can brown up some ground beef rather than the soy crumbles and toss that in instead. Your choice. My goal here is to be able to show you just how easy it is to change up a normally meat-packed meal into something family friendly and vegetarian. Yes, I may use a lot of convenience-type ingredients, but c'mon, I'm a full time working mom, and I don't have all the time in the world. I still want to be able to provide something healthful to put on the table every night though. I know that there are a lot of vegetarians out there who are having to cook for the meat-eating spouses and children, and lots of those family members don't really want to eat quinoa, nutritional yeast, and tofu scramble all that often, if at all. My hope is to be able to show fellow busy moms (and dads!) that meat is very versatile, and that it's not the end of the world for your taste buds if you want to cook a meatless meal or two.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tuesday night was such a fun evening for my little family! After a yummy chili dinner (which I'll be blogging about soon), we got all bundled up and headed down to Wheeler Farm for their Halloween festivities. During the summer, Xander's preschool took a field trip to Wheeler Farm to see all the animals. I remembered he loved it, and although we wouldn't be seeing any animals this time, I knew he'd enjoy everything else they had to offer.As soon as we got there, the first thing we had to do was attempt the hay maze. Xander loves working on mazes in his workbooks, so I figured this would be right up his alley, and I was right. He hit lots of dead-ends, but he didn't get discouraged - he loved the challenge of finding his way through the maze. It was so fun that we did it twice! Tiffani and I even had a fun time skipping and dancing through the maze with Xander. I love that I can be my silly goofy self with my two favorite people in the world.After the hay maze, we headed over to the wagon ride. It was pretty chilly so we snuggled close to stay warm. There weren't any animals or anything to see, but there were a lot of lights and a few Halloween decorations.Once the rickety wagon ride was through, we headed back over to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin to soon become a good ole' Jack! There were so many to choose from, but in the end all 3 of us found one that suited us the best.After we were all finished and ready to head back home, we had a yummy fall treat waiting at home for us! We were all cold, so we had decided on some hot chocolate, and then on top of that, the pumpkin frozen yogurt we made the night before, was all ready to eat! I know, a little ironic to be eating an icy treat while trying to warm up... but hey, it sounded good to us! and it was! I wish I had gotten a picture of us eating our treats, but I'm pretty sure were all to busy gobbling up the goodness to even think about it.All in all, it was such a fun night. Most nights, it's the same old routine. Have dinner, get some things done around the house, get Xander ready for bed, get myself ready for bed, be lazy for a little bit, and then go to bed as late as physically possible. So to have it switched up a little bit for a change was really good for us I think. I couldn't do it every night, and it was definitely thanks to my crock-pot because the chili was all ready for eating by the time I got home from work. I'm so happy to not be so tied down and busy with wedding planning! We can do more things on a whim and spend a lot more quality time together. That is what family is all about, and I love my little family and every minute I get to spend with them!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

A couple of months ago, I was browsing my new addiction, Pinterest, and I came across one of the most delicious looking cakes I had ever seen.I knew right away, that this would be the cake that I would be making for my wife’s next birthday.Every time I saw it there on my Pumpkin Recipes pin-board, I got more and more excited for her birthday to come. Well, the time finally got here.We celebrated her birthday with her family last night, and let me just tell you… this cake was absolutely a hit.If this tells you anything, her grandma has never talked to me -Not even once in the 2+ years I’ve been a part of the family.But as soon as she was finished with that slice of rich pumpkin-y heaven, I heard my name.In my head, I thought, there is no way this woman is speaking to me.But yes, yes, she was calling me over.Then she proceeded to tell me that this cake was wonderful and that I did a great job.This woman has high standards like you wouldn’t believe, and she couldn’t stop raving about it to me!So I call this cake, The Cake That Broke Grandma’s Silence.

Of course, I can’t take all the credit for this cake.This Pumpkin Crunch Cake was adapted from Chef Dennis over at askchefdennis.com. This cake is just full of spectacular flavor!I did make a slight adjustment from his frosting recipe, and there was a slight adjustment that maybe I should have made with the crunch part of the cake, but for the most part, I followed his recipe.

3.Pulse the walnuts to a fine chop.Because my food processor is only a 3 cup processor, I had to put the cookies in a large bowl, rather than just adding the walnuts and processing with the cookies.

4.Add in brown sugar.Again, I just mixed this into a large bowl and kinda worked it with my hands until fully blended together.

5Add in the melted butter and mix together with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture.Now this is one place I will be making a slight adjustment when I make it again.I had just poured in the full 3 sticks of melted butter all at once. What I ended up with was more of a gooey, caramel-y like texture.I suggest pouring in approximately 2/3 of the butter (just eye-ball it) and mixing it together with your hands.If the ingredients aren’t coming together, add just little splashes of the butter at a time until you come up with a crumbly, but slightly wet mixture.You want it to be able to be pressed into a cake pan and stay together, like you would a graham cracker crust.

6.Divide the mixture into 4 9-inch round cake pans, pressing into the bottom and spreading it evenly into the cake pans.Reserve about 2 cups of the mixture, which will be baked to use on the sides of the cake.

7.Set pans aside and begin the cake.

8.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Pumpkin Cake

1 ¼ cup Sugar

1 ½ sticks of Softened Butter

1 16 oz can Solid Pack Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 ½ cups Flour

½ cup Greek Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 ¼ teaspoons Baking Powder

¾ teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

3 Large Eggs

1.In your mixer, beat sugar and butter for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl frequently, about every minute or so.

2Add in the pumpkin and all the rest of the ingredients, except the eggs.Mix until just blended.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, until just blended.

4Divide batter equally into your 4 prepared cake pans, smoothing it out, making it as even as possible.

5Place the remaining 2 cups of crunch mixture that you had set aside in another cake pan or pie dish, and bake for the same amount of time as the cakes.

6Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick (or nifty cake tester) inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow pans to cool about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks and allow to completely cool.

Break up the extra crunch mix to very small bits to use to decorate the cake with.As you can see in the final product pictures, I wasn’t able to get the very small bits of crunch because I used too much butter and ended up with a goo.If you start with just a bit of butter and add as needed, you should be fine and be able to get the small bits you’re looking for.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 8oz packages of Cream Cheese

4 sticks of Softened Butter

1 pound of Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla

Yes, I know that there are 6 sticks of butter in the picture. I realized my mistake after I took the picture. Note that I only used the 4 sticks of butter listed in the recipe.

Whip the cream cheese and butter until very smooth and creamy. I never said this was a healthy frosting recipe!

Slowly add in the powdered sugar while the mixer is on the low setting (this is where my pouring shield came in VERY handy.It was awesome to not have a huge powdered sugar mess when making frosting!!).

Add in the vanilla and mix well.Set aside until needed

After your cake is completely cooled, begin frosting the layers and putting the cake together.After you have assembled all the layers with some frosting between them, start to spread the remaining frosting on the sides and top.When finished frosting, coat the sides and top with your extra crunch mixture.

You may have noticed a new addition to my little family.

Isn’t she a beaut?!I’ve washed and shined my pretty little KitchenAid more than I do my car.I’ve wanted a stand mixer (a KitchenAid, to be exact) for at least 2 years, since I’ve found a new love for baking and cooking.When Tiffani told me I could get one, I couldn’t believe my ears.I couldn’t believe I was actually going to be able to get one!So we went and picked her up earlier this week, and I was so excited that I would be able to make this great cake with my new mixer.Up until this point, I’ve been using an inexpensive hand mixer that seems to get pretty angry when it has to do a tough job.When you start smelling the motor burning, you know it’s time to upgrade.

Yesterday, I had a moment.I was making the cream cheese frosting, I had my cute new apron on, I was listening to great music, and I may or may not have been dancing.Something hit me though.This is what I love doing.This is what I’m supposed to be doing.Cooking.Baking.Creating yumminess that I can share with other people.I know I have a long way to go, but in the end, this is what I want to spend my time doing.I love making home-cooked meals for my family every night.I love taking treats to work.I love making cakes for birthdays or pies for holidays.This is my passion.I haven’t been this passionate about a hobby since I was deep into piano lessons and recitals over 15 years ago. (wow, I’m old…)I hope to blog more about my creations.I want to share my passion with others.You’ll have to excuse my poor photography though.I don’t have the best lighting in my kitchen, so they’re full of artificial light, and I’m just using a point-and-shoot for the time being.Anyway, excuses aside, I hope you enjoy!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

As I'm nearing 30 (only 2 years away!), and my son is growing at speeds I didn't even know were possible, I'm feeling like my life is just getting away from me. What do I have to show for my 28 years? Sure I have done many great things. I have an incredible, handsome, intelligent 5-year old boy that I can take a good amount of credit for. I have found and married the love of my life. I have experienced lots of heartbreak. I have learned a musical instrument or 2. I have moved across the country... and back... and back again. I have left the country. I have ran away from home. I have experienced some extreme crazy drunken days and nights. But when it comes down to it, there is so much I still need and want to do, and let's face it... I'm not getting any younger!What is this life about? Just going through day by day just trying to get through those 8 hours at the office, make dinner, clean the house, and get to sleep? Gah, I hope that's not all we're here for! Life is about the experience. It's about experiencing all that this world has to offer. The beauty, the uniqueness, the weird, the outstanding, the off-the-wall, the tear-jerking... all of it. It's about making memories.I'm sure most of you have heard of the term the Bucket List. If you haven't seen the film starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, I highly recommend it! A Bucket List is the list of things you want to do before you 'kick the bucket'. For the last couple of days, I have been writing down my Bucket List. I'm sure there are many more things that need to be added to this list. Without further ado, I present to you, my person Bucket List. I'm sure it will be added to over time, but for the time-being, this is what I've got. (I have completed those few that are in red)

1. go skydiving2. visit paris3. learn and speak french fluently4. travel the US for a year in an RV

5. visit all 50 states6. write a blog worth reading7. fall madly in love8. marry the love of my life

9. achieve complete satisfaction with my body10. go to culinary school11. make wine12. raise a dog from a Puppy13. go to Africa14. volunteer in Africa15. go on an African Safari

16. ride in a hot air balloon17. paint a mural18. master the guitar19. run a 5k20. run a half marathon21. go skinny dipping22. surprise my son with a trip to Disneyland & leave that day23. push my child to be on the honor roll24. be involved in my son's extracurricular activities25. read all of Lord of the Rings26. spend a weekend watching all of LOTR (AFTER I've read them all)27. read all of Harry Potter to my son28. watch each Harry Potter movie with my son after each book is finished29. pay off all debt30. own a car over 15k - paid with cash in FULL31. go on a romantic boat ride/picnic with my honey32. spend new years in NY33. spend new years in Vegas34. be a part of a flash mob35. learn self-defense36. get my bachelor's degree - in anything37. learn to knit38. have a hammock in my backyard39. learn how to shoot a gun40. pay something off for someone41. shower in a natural waterfall42. sleep under the stars - no tent allowed43. go on the Ellen show44. Visit the Lourve45. see the Mona Lisa at the Lourve46. build a treehouse for Xander47. own a home48. take treats to new neighbors49. go on a cruise50. stay at a Bed & Breakfast51. be an active advocate for something (gay rights, against child abuse, MADD etc)52. change my name53. have a completely organized home54. go ice blocking55. host a murder mystery56. see a broadway show in NY57. take a train ride to another city58. make wine59. grow a garden60. ride in a helicopter61. go to a Superbowl game62. stay up all night and watch the sun rise63. go to England64. sing karaoke at a bar - with people actually watching65. do a Boudior shoot (oh, you WISH you could get a picture for this one!)66. get completely drenched playing in a rain storm

67. get tattoo by Kat Von D 68. be able to do a pull-up69. be able to do 100 push-ups70. go on an all inclusive trip to somewhere tropical71. go to argentina to see where my grandma grew up72. go to at least 6 of the 7 continents - bonus if I actually fine a way to step foot on Antarctica!73. make ravioli from scratch74. host/cook a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings at our own home with all our family75. go to MI Women's Music Festival76. Experience San Fran Pride77. experience childbirth78. see Missy Higgins in concert79. go to a real blues bar in Chicago80. take a latin dance class81. visit the Grand Canyon82. Go to Yellowstone83. learn how to be more social84. learn how to be a better public speaker85. have a firepit in our backyard/patio86. be a house my kid's friends want to come play & eat at87. own a baby grand piano88. spend a week at a silent retreat89. take my family back to where I grew up (Elkhart, IN & Attica, IN)90. throw someone a surprise party91. learn how to cook with Seitan92. learn how to cook with Tempeh93. re-learn how to sew94. visit a favorite tv show set95. volunteer to build a house for Habitat for Humanity96. teach my son about money, debt, and saving before he leaves home97. teach my son how to cook98. celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary99. celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary100. Attend Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

So what is on your bucket list? What are you going to do to make your life worth living? What experiences are important to you? What do you want to make sure you don't miss out on. Don't let another day pass... get started now. And check your list often! Actively work on your Bucket List. I'm currently working on #52!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

And because I have been married for 3 weeks, as of tomorrow, it’s about time I tell the story of the happiest day of my life.The night before our wedding day. We’ve finished up our rehearsal dinner with friends and family, and Tiff and I are standing out by my car getting ready to leave. But not home together. She’s going to her mom’s up in Ogden, and I’m headed back to our empty apartment for the night. We decided to keep tradition and not sleep in the same bed the night before the big day. Besides, I had our slide-show to work on all night that I hadn’t even started! I get home, make a big pot of coffee, and settle in to get working on the slide show. As soon as I start looking at the pictures and listening to the sappy music I’ve picked, I start bawling like a baby. I can’t believe I’m about to marry my best friend! And once it starts, I just can’t stop. I’m texting Tiff all night until she falls asleep around 2am, and all we can talk about is how excited and happy we are. And how our stomachs are full of butterflies in anticipation of such a huge day. Finally I finish the slide show around 330 and just collapse. I’ve only got a couple hours before I have to wake up and head up to the ceremony site to start getting decorations set up.What a strange feeling when I wake up a few hours later. Today’s our wedding day! After all the planning, arguing, and stressing, we’re finally here! This is the day that I’ve dreamt of since I was little.So my good friend, Dawnita, and I head up to Dana & Luke’s house (where our wedding is located). It’s just crazy to think that I’m driving up to my wedding right now, and the next time I go back to our apartment will be with my new wife! After getting up there and getting started on some of the decorations, I see that Tiff and her mom has pulled up. We have agreed to see each other in the morning just so we can set everything up together, but once we start getting ready, we wouldn’t see each other until just before the ceremony. But even just seeing her walk in, knowing I was going to marry her about 6 hours later… I was just so giddy and excited. I gave her a big hug. All I really wanted to do was kiss her, but that was against our rules :) So we got everything all set up, and then it was time to get ready. (not gonna lie, just reliving this is giving me nervous butterflies, just like I had a few weeks ago when we were about to get ready for the big moment!). I gave her another big hug and told her I’d see her soon.Those few hours just FLEW by! Before I knew it, I was ready, and our photographer was telling me it was time to go see Tiffani. AH! So we were both on either side of the fence door holding hands…. And finally we got to peak around…. Can you say breathtaking?! That moment was incredible. I just couldn’t stop looking at her. She looks beautiful every day, but to see her all dressed up as my bride, knowing we were about to say our vows in about half an hour… priceless! And then of course I got teary. And then we went to go drink some nerve-calming wine :)The rest of the evening really just went so quickly for me. The moment I stood at the door with my dad getting ready to walk down the aisle was so surreal. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. She and I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. We finally made it! The meaning in the vows I made to Tiffani that day are so real and so everlasting. I made promises to her that I will never break. And I know her promises to me are just as real and unconditional. It was really amazing to be able to announce our love and our commitment to each other in front of our friends and family members. It is still hard to believe that we actually did it. Went through with something that is still so taboo in Utah. But it didn’t matter to us. No, there was no actual legal document for us to sign (although our officiant, Luna, did have a little certificate of commitment made up for us, which I think is awesome), but it’s not the documents that matter. It’s the promises. The commitment. The lifetime of true happiness together as a family. Tiffani even made a promise to Xander to always support him in his life as well, which to me, is just as important as loving me and making a promise to me. Knowing that my son will always be loved by those in our house is very important to me, and I know that although it’s not always easy or natural for Tiff, she’s always trying. And if you ask me, I think she does a great job and being a co-parental unit in our home :)After our vows were said and we were pronounced partners for life, we went a few blocks away to have some pictures taken with Xander. We came back, had a quick bite to eat, and then the reception started. It was a big blur. A lot of people came to support us on our day. Some people we never would have expected to show up. It really was so great to know that we are loved and supported.

Finally the big day was over. Once I sat down, I had a hard time getting back up. Once we got the cars all packed up, we headed home. Unfortunately, Tiff was way too tired, and we had to switch driving halfway through. It was fine with me. I was tired, but I was ok to get me and my new wife home.*******I’ve searched high and low, near and far, for a love like the one I share with Tiffani. And it’s like nothing I could have ever expected or asked for. Every moment has truly been a dream come true. No, not every moment has been perfect in our 2+ years together. But those ‘imperfect’ moments… I wouldn’t have wanted to go through them with anyone but this girl. The girl that has stuck by my side when I was going through a really hard time. When I was weak, she picked me up. From rock bottom. She’s inspired me to be a better person. She’s encouraged me to work hard for the things that I want. She is the only person I can imagine going through this life with. Nobody else could ever suffice. Life has had a whole new meaning since she walked back into my life 2 years ago. Every day we grow together. Whether it’s the result of a disagreement or the result of experiencing something new together… we’re always learning more about the other person. We’re always working to learn what works best for our relationship. I’m so incredibly happy and LUCKY to have found Tiffani. And for her to have picked me! Among anyone else in this planet, she chose me. It still hits me – I don’t know where I got my luck, but I’m not going to question it or argue all that much :)To my new wife – you are the love of my life. I will always remember the happiness we shared when we first started dating, on our wedding day, and throughout our amazing honeymoon. I will never take you for granted, and I will always keep my promises to you. I take our vows very seriously, and I hold them close to my heart. I’m so happy to say that the day you made me your wife is genuinely the happiest day of my life. I love you, Wifey! <3

About Me

Welcome to my blog! I'm Holly, and I'm a mom to a handsome 5 year old boy, and a new wife to the love of my life. I've created this blog as a place to record my family's journey in life as well as sharing some cooking and home-improvement creations I've come up with. I hope you enjoy!